No fewer than 10 people have been reportedly killed following a renewed cult clash in Obelle Community, Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, on Sunday.
The violent incident has triggered panic, forcing many residents to flee the area for safety.
This latest violence comes just days after unidentified gunmen, suspected to be cultists, invaded the community on Wednesday, killing seven people.
Sources told The PUNCH that the renewed violence is a battle for supremacy between two notorious cult groups, Deybam and Icelanders, who resumed hostilities after over two years of uneasy calm.
It was gathered that following Wednesday’s attack, where members of one group were killed, their allies launched a retaliatory attack on Sunday, targeting the relatives of their rivals.
A source in the community, who identified himself simply as Kingsley, narrated the ordeal.
He said, ‘On Sunday, cultists clashed in our community. Many people have been killed, including innocent residents. The shooting was too intense, and people started fleeing the community. About 19 people have been killed.
‘In the morning, some cultists came out and started shooting, attacking the relatives of those they believed were members of the gang that killed their colleagues on Wednesday. Not long after, the rival group came out, and both sides engaged in a fierce gun battle. Members of both groups died in the process’.
Residents of the troubled community are now calling on the government and security agencies to intervene and restore normalcy.
‘We are calling on the government to come to our aid. These cult groups are tearing our community apart. We need the police and the army to step in and stop this madness’, Kingsley pleaded.
When contacted, spokesman of the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident, saying the clash was linked to levies from an oil company in the area.
She added that the number of casualties is ten.
She stated, ‘It is a cult clash between loyalists of Naked Wire and Carol. They are fighting over the control of levies from an oil company operating in the area.
‘About ten confirmed dead. No arrest yet, but investigation is ongoing’.
